Containment as U.S. Policy During Cold War Era

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Containment as U.S. policy during Cold War Era

From after World War II and up until 1991 the foreign policy of the United States was based on Cold War ideology and the policy of containment; to prevent nations from leaning towards Soviet Union-based communism, as first laid out by George Kennan and later used as one of the key principles in the Truman Doctrine (LeCain). As this essay will argue, because of this policy the United States made a commitment to fight communism everywhere in the world and got them involved in conflicts more because of self interest, self protection and determination to beat communism than the cause itself. The fear of communism first emerged after the Soviet Revolution in 1917 during the First Red Scare in…show more content…

Even though President Truman had developed the policy of containment and gone to war in Korea to fight against communism, Senator McCarthy continued to attack the President calling him "a son of a bitch" (LeCain) and referred to Truman's and Roosevelt's Democratic administrations as "twenty years of treason" (Maier 815). Americans grew impatient due to the Korean conflict and McCarthy fueled the already angry and frustrated American voters and in 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president. President Eisenhower hinted that if the North Koreans did not come to the peace table, the United States might use atomic weapons (LeCain). Offering the same terms as President Truman did, Eisenhower was able to make the Chinese and North Koreans sign a peace treaty on July 27th 1953 (Maier 815). With Eisenhower as president Senator McCarthy's days were numbered (Fried 132), the massive defense budget would be reduced, but it did not have an effect on American Cold War policy (Brands 43). Eisenhower was a moderate Republican (LeCain) and he did not attempt to cut the New Deal programs, but wanted to reduce the budget. Six weeks after Eisenhower enters office, Stalin dies. This offered a possibility in reductions in defense expenditures, thus reducing the budget (Brands 41). The change of leadership in both Washington and Moscow made Winston Churchill advocate a summit

Cold War
The cold war started in 1945 and ended in 1989. It was a war between the United States and the Soviet Union. This war took place right after WWII and it is called the cold war because there were no real battles such as with tanks and bombs.
The history on the United States in war is that before the cold war the United States had fought in 24 battles and they won 17 of them. The strength and the courage that the United States has when they go to war are unbelievable. Their win to loss…

1. Explain the US policy of containment abroad. What were the economic, military, and political strategies of enforcing containment? Identify at least three specific programs or institutions in your response.
* First laid out by George F. Kennan in 1947, Containment stated that communism needed to be contained and isolated, or it would spread to neighboring countries. This spread would allow the Domino Theory to take hold, meaning that if one country fell to communism, then each surrounding…

Containment as U.S. policy during Cold War Era
From after World War II and up until 1991 the foreign policy of the United States was based on Cold War ideology and the policy of containment; to prevent nations from leaning towards Soviet Union-based communism, as first laid out by George Kennan and later used as one of the key principles in the Truman Doctrine (LeCain). As this essay will argue, because of this policy the United States made a commitment to fight communism everywhere in the world…

Containment Early Cold war
In the early years of the Cold War, both the Truman and Eisenhower administrations pursued a policy of containment to counter perceived Soviet aggression. Generally, the presidential administrations pursued this policy to maintain stability in the international arena, to maintain a balance of power, and also in a sense, to express disapproval of totalitarian, non-democratic regimes. Containment was expressed through a variety of policies and institutions: economic, political…

end of World War II, Europe was in ruins. Between bomb damage, economic downturn, and natural disasters such as droughts and blizzards it seemed nearly impossible to restore Europe to its prior greatness. America facilitated the recovery of Europe with military and financial aid and helped prevent the spread of communism, which is proven to overtake even the strongest countries in times of distress. This aid crushed the Soviet dream of a communist Europe, which set off the Cold War. Over the next…

Assignment 1 - The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy
SHAMIKA WARD
EMMANUEL OBUAH
POL 300: Contemp Intl Problems
May 31, 2013
The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy
The Reagan Doctrine was the foreign policy in the United States, enacted by President Ronald Reagan. The doctrine was design to eradicate the communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that were authorized and corroborated by the Soviet Union. This assignment will review by what method the United States delivered open and…

While the U.S. maintained a relatively confusing agenda regarding foreign policies during the Cold War era, its attitudes are clearer in the present as globalization has strengthened connections between all international actors and made it more difficult for some to focus on maintaining hostile outlooks. The U.S. has had a long history with Syria and Israel, as the superpower has struggled to keep the two countries from abusing each-other and has, at times, provided the latter with significant financial…

During the Cold War, America's basic policy was that of "containment" of the Soviet Union. The policy of containment was based upon several principles. First, the Soviet Union wanted to spread socialism to all areas of the world. However, it was felt that the leadership of the Soviet Union felt no particular rush to accomplish their goal. "The Kremlin is under no ideological compulsion to accomplish its purposes in a hurry. Like the Church, it is dealing in ideological concepts which are of…

Second World War the western powers were not certain what system of defense they wanted to adopt. The European nations were in the process of recovering from the effects of the War but they knew that they wanted to keep the Soviet Union from dominating the entire continent. The United States shared this desire but did not want to get embroiled too heavily in what many considered a European problem. Nevertheless, the United States and their allies in Europe recognized that a strong U.S. presence was…

George Kennan introduced America’s Policy of Containment in 1947. This policy had a few good points but many more bad points. Kennan's depiction of communism as a "malignant parasite" that had to be contained by all possible measures became the basis of the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and National Security Act in 1947. In his Inaugural Address of January 20, 1949, Truman made four points about his "program for peace and freedom": to support the UN, the European Recovery Program, the collective…